Bill to help Newtown police faces obstacles

John Pirro

Published 5:58 pm, Saturday, February 2, 2013

NEWTOWN -- The town's police officers are becoming increasingly frustrated by state lawmakers' lack of progress on a proposal to extend worker's compensation benefits to first responders affected by the murders of 20 children and six adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The issue has become further complicated, one legislator said, because unions representing firefighters and teachers as well as some other first responders also want to be covered. Several police union members expressed their dismay at a meeting Wednesday evening, said Eric Brown, who represents Council 15 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. "The longer it goes, the more anxious people get," he said.

"There is not a lot of faith in politicians in general, and there is a sense they are dragging their feet."

Within a few weeks of the Dec. 14 shootings, legislation was introduced in the General Assembly that would have provided benefits to all first responders, paid or volunteer, diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from exposure to events during the performance of their duties.

Currently, only police officers unable to work after facing serious injury or deadly force from another person are eligible for those benefits.

One problem is that worker's compensation is basically an insurance policy and can't be made retroactive, meaning that even if the law was changed first responders traumatized by the Newtown tragedy wouldn't receive payments.

But also, Dargan noted, representative of several other groups, including those involved in the Sandy Hook shooting and others who may respond to future incidents, wanted to make sure their members would be covered.